Thoughts 18 Mar 2007 11:11 am
Travel
In case nobody noticed, I just got back from Laughlin.
I spent three days and two nights in a place that looked like an upscale geriatrics ward, but, in retrospect, I enjoyed my stay.
I left my laptop home and I’m too cheap to pay 30 cents a minute, with a $3.00 minimum, to check my email.
I also left my Nikon D70, with it’s assortment of lenses, home, instead I carried a 5mp HP with a single 128meg card, that I dropped in my pocket.
I even left the small notepad that I intended to take with me, sitting on the table, that was a mistake, but hotels provide you with a few sheets of paper and a pen, so I used that.
I got up around 6 or 6:30, bought a cup of coffee, then I wandered outside and spent a few minutes drinking my coffee and just staring at the river or watching the ducks, and then went out for breakfast.
I met up with everybody right after my afternoon nap (I miss my afternoon nap) and had supper.
The camera served as an excuse to explore and read the signs that I normally ignore, like Jaeger(yuk) shots $4.50, I’ve known people who drank Jaeger, I am most assuredly NOT one of them, but I never thought of it as enough of a draw to make posters.
I met a number of people who were down from Canada or from the mid-west, most of whom had been retired for a while, they were friendly and upbeat and glad to be far away from the last winter storm.
And if you’re worried about being a trifle too rotund for that new swim suit, take a look at the pool, and you’ll realize that nobody cares.
I used to travel a great deal, but I had forgotten why, sometimes it was business, but mostly it was to escape.
The first day I was annoyed with the apparent labor shortage, and therefore slow service, but, when I was in Europe I found that the service tended to be slower than I would have liked, so I was forced to learn to relax, and sip my coffee.
Once I got back into that mind set, it got me, if not better, at least friendlier service, especially when there was nothing that could be done to speed things up anyway.
This enforced time off, away from computers, cow-orkers, and the people I see everyday, probably did more good than all the “good drugs” in the world.
The weather was perfect, the bugs were at a minimum, in spite of a warning to keep your room window closed because of the sphinx moth migration, and I’m glad I went.
Three days in the off-season, in the middle of the week, felt good, but after the boat ride, (take the one hour to Davis Dam, unless you have an uncontrollable urge to spend six hours on the jet boat tour.) and walking up and down the river several times, it was time to go home.